HIGH-SPEED INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL
(HSIPR) PROGRAM 

FRA Responses to Applicants and Other Inquiries

Track 2 applications require both a Service Development Plan and a completed Service NEPA document. The application and Service Development Plan must align with the environmental documentation that has been completed. FRA cannot make a commitment for project improvements beyond those addressed in the environmental documentation. If the project has changed following completion of the environmental document, the document may need to be supplemented in accordance with Council on Environmental Quality and FRA regulations and procedures. If everything aligns at this point, but the applicant wants to begin planning for future programs, the applicant may be eligible for planning funding under Track 3.

2. Managing costs between cost categories. a) Is the FRA planning to manage project budgets by total project cost including contingency or subtotal cost categories? b) Pending budget management process, if managing cost categories, will individual line items or total cost of the category be measured? c) Will there be some flexibility as to the assignment of costs per line item for similar scope of work descriptions assuming estimate consistency?

a) FRA will manage project budgets by the 10 major cost categories identified in the Capital Cost Budget tab of the application Supporting Forms ; b) Grantees will not be held to the budget estimates for individual line items within these ten categories – only to the total cost for the overall category; c) Grantees will have limited flexibility to accommodate minor variations in performance against the budgets for the major cost categories – however, significant variances will require explicit approval by FRA.

A grant recipient’s procurement of goods and services must comply with the Procurement Standards requirements set forth at 49 CFR 18.36. See Interim Guidance at Appendix 3.2.1. For states, section 18.36 provides that the State will follow the same policies and procedures it uses for procurements from its non-Federal funds, while ensuring that every purchase order or other contract includes any clauses required by Federal statutes, and executive orders and their implementing regulations. 49 CFR 18.36 highlights procurement principles, such as competitive bidding, to ensure full and open competition. However, procurement by noncompetitive means may be used when the State’s policies and procedures provide for the state to do so. Section 18.36 describes some situations where procurement by noncompetitive means might be appropriate, including situations where award of a contract is infeasible under small purchase procedures, sealed bids or competitive proposals and one of the following circumstances applies: the item is available only from a single source, the public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation, the awarding agency authorizes noncompetitive proposals, or after solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate. 49 CFR 18.36(d)(4)(i). Grantees must document any procurement by noncompetitive means and may be required to submit the proposed procurement to the FRA for pre-award review. See 49 CFR 18.36(d)(4)(ii) and (iii).

Furthermore, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) sets a high standard for using competitive awards.

"To the maximum extent possible, contracts funded under this Act shall be awarded as fixed-price contracts through the use of competitive procedures. A summary of any contract awarded with such funds that is not fixed-price and not awarded using competitive procedures shall be posted in a special section of the website established in section 1526.” ARRA Section 1554.

This standard applies to all projects funded with Recovery Act funds. If non-competitive procedures are used, the State DOT must document the reasons for using such procedures, and post a summary (i.e., the award date, contract/order value, vendor, description of the contract, the type of contract, and an explanation of why the grantee used non-competitive procedures) of the project on its Recovery Act website. Furthermore, the State DOT must submit this information to FRA so that the information can be posted in a special section of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board's website (www.recovery.gov ).

If the grantee follows the steps outlined above, it should be able to demonstrate compliance with 49 CFR 18.36 and the provision of ARRA Section 1554.

Finally, 23 U.S.C. § 112(b) and its implementing regulations (23 CFR 635.205(b)) are specific to the Federal Highway Administration. As ARRA and PRIIA do not contain corresponding provisions, FRA does not have a procedure for formal findings which are required for approval for the use of force account labor.

Yes. The FRA generally allows a State DOT to make its own determination that a contractor or subgrantee’s procurement practices comply with the procurement requirements set forth in the common grant rule. However, pursuant to 49 CFR 18.36, grantees and subgrantees must make available, upon request of the awarding agency, technical specifications on proposed procurements. Thus, a State DOT and its contractors or subgrantees must have proper documentation of their competitive procurement process and how it procured specific items.

The Office of Management and Budget issued guidance to the heads of federal government executive departments and agencies on July 24, 2009 regarding communications about Recovery Act funds, applications and projects. The requirements are summarized as follows:

Before Submission of Applications , oral or written communications with FRA are permitted about Recovery Act policy or any particular project (except for source selection information).

After Submission and While an Application is Pending , FRA is prohibited from engaging in oral communication initiated by an applicant about an application or the project proposed in the application. The only exceptions to this prohibition are: (1) purely logistical questions at widely attended gatherings; (2) Federal agency official communications with other Federal government employees, including members of Congress; and with elected chief executives of State, local or tribal governments or Presiding Officer or Majority Leader in chamber of State legislature; or (3) communications initiated by an FRA agency official. FRA does not anticipate initiating communications with applicants concerning pending applications. Applicants can communicate with FRA about a Track 2 project or application prior to submission of the Track 2 application and while a Track 1, 3, or 4 application is pending but the communication cannot address the specific application or project addressed in the Track 1, 3 or 4 application. As noted, FRA can contact an applicant about a pending application.

After Award , oral or written communications with FRA are permitted about Recovery Act policy or any particular project.

Within 3 days, FRA must post on the Internet a summary of oral and written communications with Federally-registered lobbyists, unless the communication is purely logistical or occurs at a widely attended gathering.    

All states face this same issue. Under 23 CFR 450, states may include in their STIP "illustrative Project[s] that can be included as an official appendix to the STIP." Such illustrative projects may fall outside of the financial constraint imposed on projects formally included in the the STIP. FRA will consider any project included as an illustrative project within an appendix to a STIP as being included in the STIP.

FRA does not have standard technical specifications for passenger equipment. FRA requires that equipment must meet FRA’s safety standards or it must have received a waiver of those requirements from the FRA’s Office of Railroad Safety in accordance with FRA’s railroad safety regulations. FRA’s Rail Safety Advisory Committee will shortly start working on producing on an expedited basis a set of technical evaluation criteria and procedures for passenger rail equipment built to alternative designs. In addition, section 305 of PRIIA directs Amtrak to establish a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee the purpose of which is to design, develop specifications for, and procure standardized next-generation corridor equipment.
 

The deadline for submitting a reimbursable invoice is 90 days after the expiration of the grant. While projects for track 1 should be expected to be completed within 2 years, the expiration date of the grant (and therefore the deadline for reimbursement) may extend beyond that period.

Due to the competitive nature of the awards made under HSIPR program, and the unique statutorily-required grant conditions governing all HSIPR program awards, FRA will be active in overseeing all projects receiving funding under the HSIPR program. For projects that are also being funded in part by another Federal agency, FRA will work to coordinate grant oversight with any such agencies to ensure that grantees are not subjected to duplicative oversight requirements.